Gilead Sciences: Make CURE for Hepatitis C affordable for the WORLD

Over 170 million+ people and their families are in desperate need of a cure that does not include interferon or ribavirin.Gilead Sciences apparently has at last achieved their goal of developing their own in-house cure for genotype 1 with sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) and ledipasvir (without ribavirin or interferon), and FDA approval should be forthcoming in October 2014.Gilead also now has proven success in Phase 2 trials with Sovaldi and GS-5816 (their in-house drug to replace daclatasvir) for genotype 1 through 6, a combination that thus far seems to have proven to be at least as equally as effective as the Gilead/Bristol trials and most likely will turn out to be a ‘one pill’ cure for ALL genotypes (without toxic interferon OR ribavirin).

Considering this has taken far longer than Gilead and the HCV community anticipated (well over two years), it is quite disheartening to realize now the HCV community has another ‘roadblock’ thrown between them and the possibility of being cured, and that is the $150,000+ price tag that is likely to be placed on this phenomenal game-changing cure.

Gilead Sciences, please reconsider the price you have placed on this cure and make it 'profitable for all'... a cure for a world epidemic as well as a great investment return for Gilead and their investors.

Open Letter to Gilead Sciences, their Board of Directors and shareholders:

The data from the Boston AASLD 2012 meeting confirmed the amazing 100% cure rate with Gilead’s sofosbuvir and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s daclatasvir. Not only did this combination cure genotypes 1, 2 and 3, this cure was achieved without the toxic and debilitating side effects of ribavirin or interferon, both of which are known to cause severe anemia and other life-threatening conditions. There are even some concerns that ribavirin may in fact be carcinogenic (see http://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/0815/p655.html) So millions of patients and their families were so very hopeful about the possibility of quick access to this safer and effective HCV drug combination without ribavirin or interferon.

You can see from the 45,000+ signatures the many people and their families who are in desperate need of a cure that does not include interferon or ribavirin. Gilead Sciences apparently has at last achieved their goal of developing their own in-house cure for genotype 1 with sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) and ledipasvir (without ribavirin or interferon), and FDA approval should be forthcoming in October 2014. Gilead also now has proven success in Phase 2 trials with Sovaldi and GS-5816 (their in-house drug to replace daclatasvir) for genotype 1 through 6, a combination that thus far seems to have proven to be at least as equally as effective as the Gilead/Bristol trials and most likely will turn out to be a ‘one pill’ cure for ALL genotypes (without toxic interferon OR ribavirin).Considering this has taken far longer than Gilead and the HCV community anticipated (well over two years), it is quite disheartening to realize now the HCV community has another ‘roadblock’ thrown between them and the possibility of being cured, and that is the $150,000+ price tag that is likely to be placed on this phenomenal game-changing cure.